So Halloween night we went to the red van to go trick-or-treating, and it wouldn't start, Chuck eventually got it started but ever since then it's had electrical problems, and we moved the car seats back to the blue van and have been using that one, although sparingly. Well, we told my parents who gave us the red van, and I think they felt really bad, and my dad is really worried about the sliding door on the blue van coming off, since it had slid out of its track before, and now we can't open it all the way or it'll do it again. So my dad wanted us to get an estimate of how much it would cost and he said he'd pay it. Ever since his mom, my grandma passed away a couple of years ago (when I was pregnant with Owen), he's been really generous because he's getting money from her estate. Last Christmas, they gave us $1000 to move with, but Chuck spent it all on "necessities" but I didn't really see that happen. So Chuck called the dealership in town, explained that it was something electrical, and that his father-in-law would be paying for it. They came and towed it away, and apparently when they looked it over they went over every inch, because they told us not only was the alternator shot, and in dying had killed the battery and both would need to be replaced, but the windshield wipers on the front and back should be replaced, the coolant should be flushed or replaced or something, and the front brakes were operating at about 25%. So technically they could have failed at any point. They told my dad it would cost close to $1000 to fix it all, and he said "okay." So he's coming to town on Monday to go to the dealership to pay for and pick up the van.

Last night Chuck and I did some Christmas crafts. We set up the tree just so we could check the lights on it, and some of them don't work. Last year we bought some stockings after Christmas on sale, and last night we used fabric paint to put all of our names on them. We also started making paper snow flakes to hang on the tree and put on the walls. We still need to fix the lights on the tree and put our ornaments on it, most of which we bought last year on sale. We'll probably end up doing the same thing this year, too, because it's not like those things go bad, and buying on sale saves us so much money it ridiculous not to do it. I still need to clean the house more and get things organized for Christmas, and we need to buy gifts for everyone.

2:22 P.M. - 12.14.11